Watching the iPad’s first television spot on the Oscars Sunday night, I got giddy all over again in anticipation of getting my hands on this hot new product. Though it’s still a few weeks away , I’m even more excited for the applications that will be coming to the platform. Here’s my top 10 list of apps that I want to see developed for the iPad. Coda As a graphic designer and web developer, Coda is a staple in my workflow. It features a built-in FTP system, which could be problematic to port to a mobile device, considering there isn’t a traditional file structure to store data. However, perhaps the iPad’s new file storage system will provide an adequate solution. Regardless, as someone who codes, it would be awesome to sit next to a client and modify code and push changes to a site all from my iPad while they load and test the revisions on their own desktop. Photoshop Before you laugh, remember that Adobe has already released Photoshop Mobile for the iPhone, and all things considered, it’s not such a bad application. A larger iPad version could allow support for opening and manipulating native Photoshop files as well as working between multiple files. CS4 introduced a new tabbed approach to viewing multiple documents at once. A similar setup could easily be implemented on the iPad. Katamari Damacy What’s a fun touchscreen device without a fun game? Katamari already exists as an iPhone app so it’ll scale up decently on the iPad. But given the advanced graphics of the iPad and the larger screen, a native iPad version is a must.

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I’m always on the lookout for photography tools that are easy-to-use and help me turn good photos into great ones. Nik Software’s Sharpener Pro 3 ($199.95), a plug-in for Aperture, Lightroom and Photoshop, does just that, which is probably why I find myself utilizing it pretty much any time I do a photo shoot. With two sharpening

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I was thrilled to hear that current apps will be compatible with the iPad, but I’m more excited for apps that haven’t been written yet. Apps for the iPhone and iPod touch are designed for use while being held. There’s an exciting new use case that comes with the iPad — when it’s sitting in the dock. Owners not only have a new device to read news while on the couch, but they also have the perfect peripheral display. What’s a peripheral display? Something that provides basic information without distracting you from your primary task. It runs silently in the background and it’s there when you need to retrieve some glanceable information. You already use plenty of them every day: clocks, stock tickers, weather icons, unread email icons, etc

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While perusing the internet earlier this morning, we came across this pretty nifty tutorial for constructing your own iPad device in Photoshop. Head over to hvdesigns to follow along the step-by-step Apple iPad tutorial .  If you’ve got the skills, dust off your old copy of CS2 and get crackin’ on those rumor mills! Think about it–you could concoct some pretty amazing fake iPad shots. Take a minute to strategically place a screenshot of the purported Hulu app (with Flash!), or the Android home screen, or maybe even a command control center of some starship somewhere. The possibilities are endless.  Via Good-tutorials

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Section: Software + Apps , Design , Mac + Computers , Software , Reviews Format: Download Developer: Pixelmator System Requirements: Intel or PowerPC, Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later, Core Image supported graphics card Review Computer: 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook, 4GB DDR2 RAM Processor Compatibility: Intel or Power PC Price: $59.00 single user Availability: Out now Demo: Download Despite the vast array of cloud-based apps and free software, many users still have a cadre of tried-and-true desktop programs they consider a must.  It is rare for these users to experience a Eureka! moment and want to convert to a competing app.  Pixelmator, billed as the the world’s only GPU-powered, Mac OS X-only image editor, is one of those programs.  Other reviewers have thrown out the idea that Pixelmator can go head-to-head with Photoshop…I would go so far as to say you could have a toss up between Photoshop Elements/Lightroom and Pixelmator, but I doubt most users of the full Creative Suite version would feel satisfied with Pixelmator’s feature set.  If Adobe’s products keep adding features you never use, however, Pixelmator may just be a (much cheaper) alternative.  Serious Photoshop users take note; if you are doing extensive photo retouching or basic layer-based image composition, Pixelmator blazes by Adobe’s products.  In the time it takes Photoshop to start up, Pixelmator can veni, vidi, vici before the PS splash screen is gone. The Good Pixelmator is FAST .  In testing on both a late 2006 MacBook and a summer 2009 MacBook Pro, the program was fast to start, quick to respond, and snappy in applying filters.  Pixelmator leverages Apple’s Core Image framework, which offloads graphical tasks to your Mac’s graphics card.  This means the speed of the program is based on your GPU and graphics memory.  The late 2006 MacBook did perform rather sluggishly, especially when applying filters to an entire image (back in the day when the PowerPC chip was first introduced, designers used to benchmark systems based on the speed of a Gaussian blur filter).  This result is hardly surprising given the MacBook’s Intel GMA 950 graphics chip.  On the ‘09 MacBook Pro, many of the filters felt real time, especially the Quartz Composer filters (many of them are applied real time to iChat/Photo Booth images as effects).  Filters in Pixelmator render in real-time much like Apple’s Instant Alpha feature in iWork. This familiar feeling is one of Pixelmator’s many standout features. Overall, the program just feels a Mac application (Apple should take note and start making some UI updates to Aperture). All windows use the HUD interface theme, and thoughtful touches throughout—like the fact that the currently selected tool pops from the menu bar—make the program much more visually appealing than its Adobe competitors.  There are even some nifty custom UI elements, such as filter windows that are literally attached to the image being edited, or how the Brush engine, which is one of the shining stars in the program, uses an image well much like OS X to allow drag-and-drop creation of new brushes.  You can even use the crayon box color picker if you want (I know serious artists scoff, but it is a user friendly way to present color choices—better than Microsoft’s little honeycomb color chooser). I used the brush engine to create a new snowflake brush using a snowflake clip art and then made my holiday card for next year. Hey, it is never too early to start! The Great As if speed were not enough, Pixelmator really is an incredibly powerful image editor. The speed can be attributed to the program’s use of Apple’s pre-built image capabilities, but the program’s power and elegance lend it a feeling of composure that make working on an image feel less like work and more like creation.  The interface literally gets out of the way when needed (via the “Hide unnecessary palettes” preference option).  Invoking the Curves adjustment pane causes the other palettes to fade so you can see the changes being made applied to the whole image: Overall, this feels much better than Adobe’s 2 step process of invoking an adjustment pane, making changes and seeing a preview of them (which is ridiculously small), then waiting for your changes to render on the whole image.  Pixelmator shines in both basic image editing and layer-based image composition.  Using the Appletell logo from the top of the site, I was able to compose a new image on 10 layers, adding a sunburst and diamond checkerboard pattern, blending these using full layer blending tools and opacity, then adding several layers of filters/effects.  Most of the abilities are nothing new or revolutionary, but the program’s speed and ease of use made the process feel less cumbersome.  For such a low price point, the program is exceptionally well designed, includes support for my Wacom tablet, and offers a full set of keyboard shortcuts that made sense to both a longtime Photoshop and Mac user

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Section: Software + Apps , Miscellaneous , Third-Party , iPod + iTunes , iPod touch , iPhone , iPhone , iPhone SDK & Apps , Mac + Computers , Software Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for January 7, 2010: Macintosh SpectorSoft Corporation has announced Spector Pro Mac 2010 , the industry’s first and most comprehensive monitoring and surveillance software for the Mac platform. Three new Activity Recorders capture all online searches, programs run and files transferred, in addition to keystrokes, chats and instant messages, emails sent and received, and more. Spector Pro mac 2010 adds powerful blocking capabilities, keyword alerts, and an intelligent “Internet Lingo” translator. Just Mobile Ltd. has announced two new product members to help organize your work space and with style which complements the latest Mac computers. Just Mobile Mtable is a solid stand, designed to let you slide a MacBook underneath and put a Cinema Display on top. You can also put an iMac or MacBook on it and store your keyboard below the Mtable. Made of 100% aluminum, it matches the metal finish on the Mac computers. A tools design from Denmark, Just Mobile Alupad is a mouse pad with an anodized aluminum surface ensuring lasting durability with style. Alupad supports all optical mice for precise movements. The sleek design complements perfectly Mac desktops and laptops and also adds a clean and modern look to your work space. Non-slip feet keeps Alupad staying secure on your desk. iPhone/iPod Avallon Alliance is starting the New Year with a worldwide launch of the game Car Troller

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If the word “Lomography” brings a smile to your face, then the Hipstamatic app is for you.  It emulates the quirky Russian-made Lomo “toy camera” line, whose plastic lenses and less-than-light-tight bodies produce photos with blurring, light leaks, weird/smeared colors, and unexpected vignetting.  Photo purists may roll their eyes in despair, but the Lomography crowd adores the unpredictable results of their cameras.  And now Hipstamatic brings that same low-tech look to your iPhone’s camera.  The basic US$1.99 app comes with two lens and film choices, each with their own distinct characteristics.  Expansion packs can be purchased from within the app for US$0.99 each; they include additional lenses, film stocks, and in some cases flashes (e.g. a flash with three different color filter options).  The resulting pictures can be emailed or uploaded directly to Facebook. Even as the Lomo cameras’ medium-format film becomes harder and less convenient to buy and process, digital solutions like the Hipstamatic (not to mention Photoshop plug-ins that will Lomo-tize any digital image) keep the Lomo’s accidentally-on-purpose aesthetic alive.  If you’re a photographer who’s convinced sharp focus and accurate colors are overrated, Hipstamatic may be the low-tech tonic your pictures need.

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The rhetorical question du jour on the Mac Web seems to be whether the traditional Mac advantage is eroding due to increased reliance on “the Cloud,” or not. Are online applications and utilities, such as the impressive suite of free functionality marshaled by Google, making the rationale for owning a Mac instead of some bore bare-bones Web access device obsolete? After all, that’s at least the theoretical argument (aside from low-ball pricing) for the PC mini-note or netbook phenomenon, and it’s certainly resonating with some. Recently, blogger and Mac veteran Mike Doyle announced that he is “dumping Apple” after 15 years as a Mac-user, saying he’s finally lost patience with what he calls Steve Jobs’ “you’ll use your computer the way we tell you to use your computer method of customer relations.” A Thorough Purge Mike is doing a thorough purge, switching to Gmail and Google Calendar in place of Apple’s Mail and iCal applications, allowing that Google’s Web apps are not only more robust than Apple’s desktop counterparts, but happily free. Formerly an avowed staunch Apple evangelist, he’s now become an incisive critic of Apple under the regime of Mr. Jobs, particularly what he perceives as an overall marketing strategy concentrating primarily on attracting PC converts — ie. dumbed-down to accommodate a lower common denominator class of user, with a bundled suite of closely interlinked but relatively mediocre “iLife” programs that meet the basic needs and tastes of average, non power users, but not much more. Mike is fed up with Apple routinely and superciliously releasing software and system updates that break popular third-party applications and add-ons, expecting Mac-users to just suck it up. “As good as Mac OS X?” Doyle’s frustration led him to do an audit of Apple software he actually uses anymore, and didn’t come up with much, noting that Google and other open source, third-party applications’ ease of use has drawn him more and more into the cloud. He’s dumped Safari for Firefox and NetNewsWire, replaced Apple Pages and MS Word with Google Docs for word processing, disabled the Dock in favor of DragThing , and migrated his library of 15,000 photos out of iPhoto and into Picasa. He still uses iTunes, but that’s about it, so he no longer perceives a compelling argument for continuing to use a Mac, especially with the release of Windows 7, observing that when perennial Wall Street Journal Mac fanboy Walt Mossberg called Win7 “as good as Mac OS X” that pretty much sealed the deal for him.

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It can’t beat the recent free Mac Heist giveaway (what could?), but a new Mac software bundle does offer a lot of good applications for a steeply discounted price. The somewhat awkwardly named MacGraPhoto bundle provides seven graphics applications for the same amount that one alone would normally set you back, $39.99. The seven apps are all new to me, but they seem to have garnered favorable reviews and even some official accolades from Apple itself. They also cover quite a range, meaning that no two really duplicate the functions or features of the others. Here’s a brief rundown of the apps you get in the bundle. GraphicConverter – Does what it says. You can open basically any image file, and then save it as another. You can also do some light editing, organize your photos, run a slide show, and automate your image processing to make working with large batches of files easier. Picturesque – Provides a lot of easy, 1-click or simplified image enhancement abilities. Great for those who don’t have the patience or time to learn more advanced programs like Photoshop, or who want really quick turnaround times for time sensitive activities like blogging. ImageFramer – Add frames to your pictures. A little weird, in my opinion, but if you’re looking for something different for your photos, this could be it. Funtastic Photos – Photo correction and enhancement which automatically preserves your original

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Section: Apple News , Conferences , Macworld , Features , Originals That time of year is coming up again. And no, I’m not talking about Christmas. This event is going on February 9th through the 13th , and is known as the Macworld Expo. And yes, while it’s sad that Apple won’t be appearing this year, you might also be surprised to hear who else isn’t showing up. Despite IDG mentioning HP, Microsoft, FastMac, Shure and Intuit had already signed up during their town hall meeting last January, the exhibitor list they’ve posted says otherwise. Currently missing from there are both Microsoft and Intuit. Other than imitating Apple as Microsoft commonly does, why would they choose to also leave the Macworld expo? While the answer to that question is currently unknown, there could be a few reasons. For one, maybe it is simply that Microsoft doesn’t feel a need to be present at an event for Mac products that Apple isn’t even present at

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